


Static

by ISingTheSkyElectric



Series: Sheith Month 2018 [5]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Astral Plane, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Clones, Episode: s06e05 The Black Paladins, Kinda, Kuron POV, M/M, Mind Control, Near Death Experiences, Not Really Character Death, Season/Series 06, Sheith Month 2018, Shiro (Voltron) Whump, and all the shit that comes with
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-06-08 05:26:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15236328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ISingTheSkyElectric/pseuds/ISingTheSkyElectric
Summary: He can’t control his movements, can’t control his eyes or his mouth. It’s like he’s on auto-pilot, but it’s worse. He’s under someone else’s control.Shiro’s now become Haggar’s puppet.-------Or an ending, and a beginning.





	Static

**Author's Note:**

> Day 7: Clones  
> Day 10: Fidelity  
> Day 13: Happy Ending
> 
> Fidelity : the degree to which a copy accurately reproduces the original sound or image.
> 
> This is just over 4k of my feelings about clones. I blame Star Wars.

Lotor hits the ground with a bone-sickening crack. Allura glares down at him, body shaking with molten fury and heart-breaking grief. Shiro can see her heart melting right there, pain and anger spilling together.

An alarm blares through the castle, noise breaking the sudden silence. The holo-screen springs to life, showing the hangar and highlighting two figures. Shiro recognizes two of Lotor’s old generals, bodies enclosed in armor.

“The hangar’s been breached!” Coran shouts. 

Hunk turns to the group, a frown on his face. “It’s Lotor’s troops. They’re stealing the ships.”

A sudden strike of pain lances through Shiro’s head, his vision flashing white for a second. He falls to his knees, hands coming up to clutch at his head. He’s vaguely aware he’s screaming as the pain builds.

 _Give in. You cannot resist,_ a voice hisses in his head. He can feel a presence claw at his brain, digging talons into his senses. Let me in.

Shiro manages to glance up, vision tinted purple. Lance and Pidge are leaning over him, faces worried. He blinks once, twice, and they blur into a purple face he wishes he never had to see again.

 _You are mine now. Give in!_ Haggar screeches at him, violet claws reaching out and curling around his head. He can feel her fingers dig into his brain, grasping at his control.

 _No, no, no!_ he screams as he feels his body lock up. His vision blurs, then refocuses, and the purple is gone. _No!_

His body isn’t his own as he looks up and sees Hunk crouched next to him. He can only watch as his arm reaches out and punches Hunk clean across the room, knocking him into Coran. Shiro’s body moves, catching Lance’s shoulder and tossing him to the floor.

“Lance!” Allura cries.

Shiro turns, feeling his bayard materialize in his hand. He spins, launching the metal at Allura’s head. 

_No!_ he shouts to no one.

Allura dodges, wide-eyed as the bayard buries itself into the doors. Shiro moves after her, feeling his muscles slide fluidly under his skin. _Like a predator._

Romelle tries to block his punch with a hand and he easily counters. He catches her by the throat, lifting her off the ground. She chokes under his grip, blue eyes squeezing shut, and he slams her into the ground, metal denting under the force. She goes limp and he releases her just in time to block Allura’s whip.

 _Allura! Help!_ he tries to scream, but his throat refuses to shape the sounds. His hand catches the whip and he ignores the energy searing into his prosthetic. He grips the whip in his fist, pivoting his body on one foot and pulling. Allura is dragged through the air, grip still tight on her bayard. She crashes into one of the walls, cracks spider webbing out as she slides to the ground and lies unmoving.

 _Transfer the code,_ Haggar orders, voice rasping. Shiro’s body marches across the room to Coran’s control panel. His prosthetic slams into panel, hand burning a bright violet. He feel a slight tugging at his mind and he knows it’s the sign of a connection. There’s a second of buzzing, of code transference. The tugging disappears and the purple light dies.

 _Get Lotor,_ Haggar hisses in his head and he feels his limbs move to obey. Lotor’s weight is surprisingly light on his shoulder as he stalks out of the control room. 

He can’t control his movements, can’t control his eyes or his mouth. It’s like he’s on auto-pilot, but it’s worse. He’s under someone else’s control.

Shiro’s now become Haggar’s puppet.

He nears the hangar where they keep the comet ships and the small Altean ships. He jogs through the blasted open doors, barely tripping over the scorch markas and past a crouching Pidge and a laying Krolia. 

“Shiro’s gone mad!” Allura shouts over the intercoms, voice panicked, as he heads towards one of the Altean ships. “He’s escaping with Lotor. Stop him before he leaves the ship!”

His body tosses Lotor into the ship and jumps in himself. He can only watch as his fingers punch buttons that he vaguely recognizes. He catches the hum of a bayard and feels his head move up. He can only stare as Pidge levels her bayard at him, teeth gritted and eyes burning bright. 

_Please! Pidge, do it!_ he pleads and shouts, knowing she can’t hear him but praying she follows through with her threat. 

The shields lower themselves, flashing a bright blue before it goes dark and cuts Pidge off. 

_NO!_ he shouts, mentally throwing himself against Haggar’s control. _You can’t do this! I won’t let you!_

 _Quiet!_ Haggar shouts and the slight headache doubles, pain screaming in his head. He can barely feel the ship below him shudder as they exit the hangar and enter space. _You are under my control! Bring him to me!_

His body pilots the ship to catch up with the three ships that Lotor’s generals are flying. He barely manages to reach them before a bright blue beam rocks the ship. 

Haggar growls in his mind. _Keep flying. Bring him to me._

 _No!_ He pulls and tugs, but he can’t loosen her hold. A blue holo-screen pops up over his control console and Shiro recognizes an Altean calling frequency. 

“Shiro, it’s Keith.”

Shiro mentally screams, fighting against Haggar. If that’s Keith, he’s probably flying Black. Keith is chasing them and he’s going to get hurt and Shiro can’t let that happen.

“Shiro, it’s gonna be okay,” Keith says over comms. His voice is soft and reassuring. “We just have to-”

Shiro’s hand cuts him off with a press of a button. The holo-screen flickers and goes dark. 

He pilots him and Lotor through empty black space. There are slight noises from outside the ship, booms that tell him the team is battling Lotor’s generals.

Shiro fights. _He has to get back to the team. He has to help them fight. He can’t let Haggar win, he can’t let her get Lotor._

 _Silence!_ she screams, pain crashing in his head. A purple blur shakes itself into existence before his eyes and it expands, eating up the black of space. He recognizes the wormholes that Allura calls to life, but this one is a sickly purple, the corrupted violet of the Galra.

 _Haggar,_ he hisses. If he goes through that, he’s not coming back.

He screams and kicks, focusing on trying to control his hands. If he can just turn the ship around, he can get back. He could win. The purple shines brighter and brighter until it fills his vision, burning his eyes. It grows closer and closer and then-

The ship shudders beneath his hands as they pass through. 

Shiro mentally collapses, eyes staring at the entire Galra fleet hovering over beige-and-blue planet. He can’t win this. He can only hope that the team survives their fight.

He’s not getting out of this alive.

He lands the ship with a shudder inside one of the larger Galra ships. Lotor blinks himself awake when they touch down, glancing around. He focuses on Shiro, staring at him for a long moment as Shiro’s body opens the shields and shuts down the ship. His body pulls Lotor out and leads him to one of the side doors. 

Two of Lotor’s generals meet them there. 

“Zethrid. Ezor,” Lotor says cooly, and Shiro has to recalculate the thought of Lotor being behind this. 

A loud thud shakes the entire ship, making the four of them lose their balance. Shiro catches himself and turns.

The Black Lion peers through a hole in the ship, head and body wedged in the gap. 

_Keith._

She pauses then reverses, letting the ship lose its vacuum. Wind rushes past them and Shiro feels his feet slip before the doors slam shut, cutting the group off. 

Shiro’s body turns and he reaches out to grab Lotor’s bound wrists. A large clawed hand stops him.

“We’ll take it from here,” the larger Galra says, voice deep and rough. There’s an edge of an order underneath the words. She turns, grabs Lotor, and leads him down the hallway. He feels his muscles lock in place, body waiting for orders. 

“Is it broken?” The other Galra, this one more orange than purple, pauses and stares at him. She reaches out and pokes him with one finger. He wants to reach out, to snap her wrist, to snarl, to escape and get to Keith so they can leave.

“Ezor,” the larger Galra calls back.

“Coming!” the orange Galra shouts back, jogging after them.

Shiro feels Haggar’s presence slither around his head, poking and prodding his brain. _You are to lead the Black Lion away from the fleet, she hisses. Is that understood?_

 _Never, you witch!_ he snarls back.

Her claws dig in, his skull pounding. He feels himself curl under the force of her will. _You will lead the Black Lion away. Do you understand?_

His jaw moves without his input. “Yes. But how am I to lure them away?”

She hums, sliding and toying with his brain. _The Red Paladin’s connection to you runs deep. Deeper than the others. He believes there is good inside you, which leaves him vulnerable to persuasion. You will exploit this weakness._

The truth rings loud, settling deep into his bones. His heart sinks to his feet. “I understand,” his mouth says. 

Both of them will die, Haggar means.

Shiro goes back to the Altean pod and pilots it through the makeshift hole in the side of the hull. He turns the ship towards the few asteroids circling the planet, aiming for the largest of them.

Keith’s face pops up on the ship’s holoscreen, eyes and armor tinted blue. Shiro’s heart aches at the sight of him, his face older, eyes wiser. “Shiro, I don’t know what’s wrong, but I know we can fix this,” he says, voice comforting. “Let me help you.”

Shiro’s hands ache. He wants to turn around, to run back to Keith’s arms, but his muscles are locked. 

“I know you’re hurting,” Keith says. “We just need to keep it together a little while longer.”

Shiro screams against Haggar’s control, banging against her power. His grip on the handles don’t waver.

He lands on the dusty gray asteroid and leaves the ship. His body carries him down into a deep ravine and into a dark cave. He moves in the dim light, footsteps crunching against the rock. A large metal door looms out of the dark, violet accent lights illuminating the surrounding space. An elevator lowers him to more doors and he steps through.

A long metal platform juts out from the asteroid, a large and dangerous-looking gun hanging from the underside of the rock hovering over the edge of floor. He steps down onto the platform, walking down the length of it until his body hides itself in between two large cylinders. He’s not sure what this place is but he feels the hair on his head stand up.

He feels like he just walked into the middle of a horror movie.

Keith follows a few minutes behind, red armor shining in the reflected light of the planet. Shiro’s heart beats faster at the sight of him and he wants to scream at Keith, to tell him to run and leave him behind.

Keith pauses, scanning his surroundings, before walking up to one of the cylinders and pressing his fingers against the surface. It lights up a bright lavender and Shiro feels his heart stop in his chest.

It’s him.

Except it’s not. It looks almost exactly like Shiro, wrapped in a black bodysuit. But this Shiro in the container has both human arms. It’s face is smooth and unscarred, hair still a thick black. It looks like the Shiro that was on Kerberos, before he was captured and experimented on and became the Black Paladin. 

It is a clone. 

Shiro’s still reeling from the revelation and its meanings as his body steps out from its hiding place. He stalks to stand between Keith and the exit as more and more containers light up to reveal more and more clones. There must be over fifty, almost a hundred alone on the little platform hanging from the asteroid. 

This is Haggar’s work.

 _Correct, human,_ Haggar laughs in his head. _It is delightful to see your reactions._

“Hello, Keith,” his mouth says, voice deeper and rasping in his throat. 

Keith turns. His purple eyes widen in shock and Shiro feels his heart crack.

“Shiro, it’s gonna be okay,” Keith says as Shiro’s body stalks closer and closer. 

“Yes, I know,” Shiro’s mouth replies.

Keith takes a step back. “We just have to get back to the Castle.”

 _Naive boy,_ Haggar hisses. _Kill him._

Shiro feels his face twist into a snarl. “We are not going anywhere!” his mouth shouts, voice ripping from his throat. He leaps at Keith, his prosthetic hand burning bright as it powers up.

Keith pulls up his shield just in time to block Shiro’s swing, the blue protection shattering under the block and knocking Keith back. He dodges to the side to avoid another swing and Shiro’s hand shatters a control panel. 

_Stop! Don’t make me do this!_ Shiro shouts, tearing at Haggar’s presence. She doubles down, curling her power into every crack in his head.

Keith’s sword manifests in a shimmer of purple and he blocks Shiro’s punches. His eyes are wide under his helmet glass, pleading with Shiro to stop.

Another punch knocks Keith off his feet and sends him careening off the platform. Shiro’s heart leaps to his throat as he leans over the side. 

Keith lands on his feet on a little platform far below. Shiro’s body jumps after him, fist drawn back and humming with power. Keith dodges his landing, scrambling away as Shiro hits the platform with his hand, prosthetic immediately burning a hole in the metal. His lungs burn at the dust he kicks up as he stands, stalking after Keith.

Keith stares up at him, Marmora blade glowing a dull purple in his hand. 

_Now, this should be interesting,_ Haggar cackles and Shiro feels his arm burn. He raises his hand and feels the power in his prosthetic warp and twist. A dark violet energy sword manifests itself from his prosthetic.

Shiro’s heart stops and he screams in his head. _No! You can’t do this!_

 _I can, and I will,_ she hisses, and Shiro’s body leaps.

Keith stays on the defensive as Shiro chases him around the platform. His energy sword vibrates and he can feel it twist deeper into his prosthetic with every blow he exchanges. Shiro manages to catch Keith’s punch. He tucks his arm under his. He throws his human fist in an undercut, knocking Keith’s helmet clean off. Something in his hand cracks and knows he just broke a bone.

Keith moves and Shiro follows. He leaps off the platform again and Shiro’s body chases after. His arms wrap around Keith’s middle, throwing off their balance. They tumble through the air, wind whipping Shiro in the face. He manages to catch himself on a wire. Keith is torn free from his arms and the wire snaps under his weight, sending him swinging down to a platform. He hits the metal on his knees and rolls twice, coming to rest on his side.

 _Up,_ Haggar orders.

Air forces itself back into his lungs as Shiro rises to his feet. He glances up just in time to glimpse Keith slamming into him feet first. 

Shiro tumbles backwards. He crashes onto something hard on his back before momentum keeps him going. His blade barely comes up in time to block Keith’s sword. Keith presses his full weight against Shiro, pinning him to the railing. 

Keith glares at him, eyes yellow, purple irises narrowed, fangs bared. Shiro’s heart stops in his chest. 

Shiro feels his throat unleash a growl. “That’s the Keith I remember,” his voice snarls.

Keith blinks, face falling, and his eyes switch back to normal.

 _Get him!_ Haggar shouts. 

Shiro’s arm twists, locking his blade under Keith’s and sending it flying. Keith ducks under Shiro’s swing and leaps after his sword. He follows him, Keith dodging every swipe of his blade. The energy pulses in the prosthetic, shivering up his arm. Shiro’s sword cuts through scaffolding with no resistance, the metal frame falling with a crash and separating the two. The smell of hot steel burns the air.

“Shiro,” Keith gasps, voice rough. “I know you’re in there. You made a promise once. You told me you’d never give up on me.”

Haggar cackles in his head. _Stubborn one._

“And I should’ve abandoned you, just like your parents did,” Shiro shouts back. His heart aches with every word out of his mouth. “They saw you were broken. Worthless. I should’ve seen it too,” his throat hisses.

“I’m not leaving here without you,” Keith replies.

Shiro feels his lungs sigh as he glares at Keith. “Actually,” he growls. “Neither of us are leaving.”

The asteroid shakes, violet lights flickering into a deep crimson. The gun above them crackles to life, shimmering with electricity. Shiro prosthetic flashes a bright red. Fire crackles up his arm as the entire thing glows bright red. Pain shatters through his body as his arm burns, metal and energy curling and twisting and shuddering its way through his flesh. He feels the flames burn and suddenly it’s shooting out of his palm in a trail of fire. It incenerates a wide hole in the floor. 

_NO,_ Shiro screams and forces his arm up.

The beam cuts through the floor in front of him and then through the asteroid above him. It carves a long burning line into the rock and the entire platform shakes. The light dims, laser dying as he crouches, shuddering and hunched over in the aftershocks.

Keith stares at him from father down the platform, eyes wide with shock.

 _Finish him,_ Haggar orders.

 _Don’t!_ Shiro cries, helpless as the twisted prosthetic raises itself and aims at him. Keith turns just before the beam fires at where he is.

Shiro’s body moves to the edge of the platform and he breathes a mental sigh of relief as he catches sight of Keith landing on a lower floor. The arm raises again and fires another crimson beam at Keith’s place, laser cutting through metal and more clone containers. Another laser cuts the platform from the rock and Shiro is helpless to watch as the metal falls with Keith still on it.

Short-lived relief rushes through him as Keith manages to jump off the moving onto another platform. Keith hits it hard, sword falling back into a knife as it shoves itself tip first into the metal. 

Shiro’s body jumps after him, bones shaking as he lands on the metal floor. His body is one big flare of pain, bruises and broken bones held together under his armor.

Keith has collapsed next to his knife, and Shiro knows that he must be far more injured.

The prosthetic’s blade flares to life, Keith face inches away from it’s burning surface.

 _KILL HIM!_ Haggar shrieks in his head, claws digging in.

Shiro feels his arm raise itself and bring the sword down in a killing blow.

Keith’s blade stops it inches away from his skin. He had moved the blink of an eye, knife in his hand. Keith stares up at Shiro, purple eyes tired and pleading.

“Shiro, please,” he gasps, arms shaking. “You’re my brother. 

I love you.”

Shiro reels back, heart pounding, and feels Haggar’s grip slip for a heartbeat in the shock. _He loves me._

Haggar screams in fury, talons shoving into his brain. _KILL HIM, CLONE!_

Shiro’s body leans forward, shoving more weight onto his blade. “Just let go, Keith, ” his voice growls. “You don’t have to fight anymore. By now, the team’s already gone. I saw to it myself.”

The smell of burning flesh sting Shiro’s nose as Keith’s screaming fills his ears. There’s a flash of glowing purple, the shine of black and suddenly-

Pain. 

The prosthetic burns as Shiro stumbles back, electricity arcing through his body. Through watering eyes, he sees Keith stand up. His purple eyes shine, a bright red mark cutting across his cheek, Marmora sword in one hand and black bayard in the other. 

Shiro falls to his knees, catching himself with - only one hand. He catches sight of the empty gap of where the prosthetic used to be. Haggar’s presence is missing, claws gone from where they had latched on to his brain. His body shudders with the aftereffects of pain. He looks up.

Keith’s reaching for him, bayard gone from his hand. His mouth moves, lips forming a word.

“Keith,” Shiro gasps out, and feels the world fall out from under him.

\----------------------

He opens his eyes to purple and black. 

He’s standing in the middle of what seems to be space. White stars scatter themselves across a deep black sky, lavender clouds hovering among them. There’s no floor beneath him, only a clear surface that reflects the space above.

“Where am I?” he shouts.

“The astral plane,” a voice responds, echoing in his ears.

He spins and the sight takes his breath away.

It’s him. But it also isn’t.

“You’re...me,” he gasps.

The other Shiro pauses, then shakes his head. “Not exactly.” His white bangs are longer and his prosthetic arm is still there.

Shiro glances at the space where the prosthetic was attached and breathes a sigh of relief. The monstrosity was gone, cut off by Keith. He pauses, remembering the last few seconds of the fight.

_KILL HIM, CLONE!_

His shoulders slump, connections finally piecing together into one large realization. “I’m one of the clones,” he says, voice flat.

The other Shiro sighs, taking a few steps closer. “Unfortunately.”

Shiro closes his eyes, processes the confession for a heartbeat, then straightens. “What happened? To you. To me. To us.”

“I died,” the other Shiro replies simply.

He pauses, casting back his memory. “The fight with Zarkon,” he says, realization dawning. There was too large a gap of memories, and there was no explanation of how he had ended up on one of the Galra ships. If the original Shiro was replaced by a clone - him - it would answer many of those questions.

The other - the original Shiro nods. “My body was evaporated in the blast. Black managed to save my essence and store it in her conscious.”

Shiro stares around at the stars and clouds. “The astral plane,” he guesses.

The original Shiro nods, face solemn.

He lets out a breath and runs his hand along the back of his neck. “And Keith? Is he okay?”

The original Shiro nods again. “Black saved both Keith and your body.”

Shiro raises an eyebrow. “My body?”

“Black freed your consciousness from your body. I don’t know if you could connect to your body anymore,” the original Shiro admits. “It may be dead, you may have a broken connection. You could easily wake up. I have no idea. This is all new to me too.”

Shiro feels exhaustion tug at him. “So we’re stuck here.”

“I’m afraid so.”

He sighs. “I’m sorry. About Keith.”

The original Shiro steps forward and places a warm hand on his shoulder. “It wasn’t your fault.”

He shakes his head in refusal. “I should’ve know. The headaches, the flash of the White Lion. The visions of Haggar at Oriande.”

The original Shiro opens his mouth but is cut off. The Black Lion lands next to them with an earth-shaking crash, wind ruffling their hair and almost sending them off their feet. They stare up at her massive presence as she crouches down, head coming to rest on the surface of the astral plane. 

“What does she want?” Shiro asks.

The original Shiro pauses, head cocked like he’s listening. He turns to stare at him, gray eyes unreadable. “I have to go.”

Shiro’s heart starts to sprint in his chest. “Go where? Like dying?”

The original Shiro looks up at Black, face soft with something like hope. “No. Like living.”

His lungs shudder beneath his ribs, grief an oncoming tidal wave. “Oh. Thank you. For explaining.”

There’s a pause as the universe holds it breath, then-

“Come with me.”

He snaps his head up, eyes wide. “What?”

The original Shiro catches his remaining hand in both of his. “Come with me. Black can mix our essences together. We’re similar enough; there could be one Shiro.”

“I can’t,” Shiro says. He shakes his head. “I took Keith from you once, I can’t do it again.”

“You’re not taking him from me. It’ll be like sharing, except we’ll be one.” 

He pauses, thinking. The original Shiro doesn’t have the memories of all the time after his death. He doesn’t know about Lotor, or the lion switch, or Keith. He doesn’t know about Keith’s work with the Blade, or his growth spurt, or his newfound family. This Shiro won’t know about the love confession. He’ll need those memories if he’s to continue to help Voltron, to lead the war. To continue their relationship with Keith.

Shiro lets out a shaking breath. “Okay.”

The original Shiro pulls him into a tight hug, body warm against his. Black purrs in his mind, a soft rumbling that slowly grows into a buzz that shakes his very bones. Shiro is struck by the realization that this is the first time he’s heard her. 

“Thank you for taking care of him” is the last thing he hears.

\------------------

Shiro wakes up with a gasp, purple eyes and orange skies above him. There's a solid surface under his back and the armor weighs his body down. 

HIs breath shudders in his throat. “You found me,” he manages to whisper to the person holding him.

Keith stares down at him, face soft. His eyes are like liquid galaxies in the sunset. “I did.”

Allura gives him a small smile from behind Keith. “Rest.”

Shiro sinks into Keith’s warmth, lets him take his weight. He closes his eyes and feels himself drop into the black.

**Author's Note:**

> [ You can scream at me on tumblr.](http://isingtheskyelectric.tumblr.com)
> 
> Next one's just gonna be pure fluff, I promise.


End file.
